Upgrading to the new ServiceNow Xanadu release: Do or Don’t?

With the new ServiceNow Xanadu release coming up late September, nobody is looking forward to scrolling through tons of release notes to determine whether it’s useful to upgrade or not. Since it’s also often difficult to extract the real business value behind the shiny new features in a new ServiceNow release, we thought it was time to share some hands-on advice whether it’s worth upgrading to Xanadu or not, and what business value it holds.

We’ll explain the business value by focusing on the following 3 key platform areas (+ one bonus tip):

1. Workplace efficiency
2. Operational Technology/Manufacturing
3. App Development
4. HR Service Delivery (bonus tip!)

Workplace Efficiency

Xanadu offers several new workplace features that are truly lifting the employee experience to a whole a new level—adding more automation, insight, control and agility! So, upgrading to Xanadu is definitely a do if you have Workplace Service Delivery.

Let’s have a look at what these features are and what business value they bring.

• Reservation & Space Mgt Planner
  • Retention of workplace services avoids double work
    The event planner in Reservation Management now includes retention of workplace services when dragging and dropping reservations between locations. This avoids double work for facility agents who are managing cases.

• • Lead time for requesting/updating workplace services enhances service quality
    A much-requested feature and now included in the ServiceNow Xanadu release is the ability to define lead times for requesting/updating workplace services as part of a reservation from both the Employee Service Center (ESC) portal and the NowMobile App. This allows facilities enough prep time for the requested service, like catering, ensuring a high-quality facility service.

• • Creating space scenarios for more than one building allows for more flexibility
    In Space Management, planners can create space scenarios for more than one building at a time, providing the team with more flexibility and creativity on the platform.

• Visitor self-service kiosk frees up reception staff
  This highly anticipated new feature allows visitors to check in/out without having to visit the reception. For the workplace admin, it provides more flexibility in configuring the check-in flow using either a passcode, phone number, visitor name, or email address. As already incorporated in Visitor Management, Workplace Admins can also include visitor policies as part of the self-registration process. A streamlined self-service check-in process reduces the need for reception staff to manually register visitors—freeing up time to let them focus on more important duties.

• Data reports of IoT sensors in Smart Building enhance facility service levels
  In Washington DC, ServiceNow introduced IoT system integration to provide more insights into the provided facility services to employees. In Xanadu, ServiceNow enhanced the framework and made it possible to retrieve and visualize data from temperature and air quality sensors. Now, workplace and real estate managers can monitor different data corresponding to the office building, make data-driven decisions and take actions to improve e.g. air quality and temperature levels. For example, if a sensor detects a busy area on an office floor, facilities can proactively request additional cleaning for that area.

• Enhanced Workplace Agent features allow agents more mobility
  Just like in Washington DC, ServiceNow is releasing great enhancements in Xanadu for facility agents and technicians working with the Now Agent app. Agents can now view and interact with workplace cases in a calendar view, and they can create cases on behalf of coworkers (previously only available on desktop). These mobile enhancements boost efficiency of your facility staff, allowing to do more on the go. Now, they don’t have to rely on their mailbox or laptop anymore to get the job done.

Operational Technology/Manufacturing

For manufacturing businesses looking to stay competitive, the real-time data insights and proactive decision-making tools offered by Xanadu can lead to significant cost savings and operational improvements. Additionally, the enhanced security features ensure that your OT environments are protected against evolving threats, giving you peace of mind as you innovate and grow.

• Enhanced automation for manufacturing processes
  The ServiceNow Xanadu release introduces advanced automation capabilities specifically tailored for the manufacturing sector. These enhancements include the ability to streamline and manage complex workflows more efficiently. For instance, improvements in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) class models allow better management and automation of control systems related to quality and inspection functions.

• Improved integration with legacy systems
  One of the standout features of Xanadu is its enhanced support for legacy systems, particularly in Operational Technology (OT). The release includes tools like the SyncIPAddressToOT scheduled job, which ensures that IP address information for OT devices is updated and synchronized seamlessly.

• Real-time data analytics and monitoring tools
  The Xanadu release introduces powerful real-time analytics tools that are integrated into the Operational Technology Progress Scorecard. This feature allows manufacturing managers to compare sites by key metrics and make informed decisions based on live data. This real-time monitoring is essential for proactive management and optimization of manufacturing processes.

• Enhanced Security Protocols for OT Networks
  Security is a top priority in the Xanadu release, with enhanced protocols designed specifically for OT networks. Features like Common Security Advisory Framework (CSAF) support provide multi-vendor security solutions, ensuring that your manufacturing operations are protected against evolving cyber threats.

App Development

Xanadu’s improvements for App Development not only simplify the development process but also enhance the precision and efficiency of building and deploying low-code custom applications. With the new tools, businesses can deliver sophisticated solutions faster, driving better business outcomes.

• Enhanced automation functions for Creator Studio
  The Xanadu release introduces significant advancements in Creator Studio, especially for playbook-related functions. The name playbooks—formerly known as ‘processes’—has been introduced to emphasize that playbooks guide users through structured interactive processes, providing a clear path and ensuring that all necessary steps are followed. You can create playbooks for any (custom) process. Xanadu also has additional automation functions for Creator Studio, allowing you to build automated emails, set approvals, auto-generate tasks, and more.

• Now Assist for Creator cuts search times
  With Now Assist for Creator, additional (Gen AI) functionalities have been added for playbooks and data visualization. As for playbooks, Now Assist can now support you in creating a playbook outline (preview and saving is possible, enabling you to improve your prompts before committing to it) and create placeholders for various activities, which you can then manually update. In addition, Now Assist will give you suggestions for the most likely activity so you spend less time searching. These updates empower developers to accelerate playbook generation, transforming how workflows are designed and implemented.More AI-driven features include text-to-analytics capabilities, allowing for instant analysis and actionable insights from textual data. You can also generate reports and visualize your data through text in a way that you describe in your requirements.

COMING SOON! Talent Acquisition feature for HRSD

After acquiring Intella, an end-to-end talent acquisition solution, ServiceNow is tapping into a growing demand for more comprehensive employee-related workflows. Intella’s AI-driven capabilities will help organizations reduce bias, expedite hiring, and improve overall employee experience.

Although this feature is not part of the ServiceNow Xanadu release, we didn’t want to hold this major update from you! It’ll be released in November and will allow you to streamline and enhance the recruitment process by integrating workforce planning, hiring, onboarding, and other employee lifecycle stages into one seamless experience.

Disclaimer
The image of the ancient city of Xanadu has been AI-generated, drawing inspiration from historical sources and other renders of the city. It might not be an accurate representation of what the signature building and other buildings looked like.